Barfi, Jordan, Ved, Jagga – Different shades of the enigma called Ranbir Kapoor

The year was 2007, the silver screen was awaiting one of its biggest debuts. The curtains lifted, and in came the blue-eyed boy on celluloid, singing away as the smitten lover, sashaying the blue hues of the story ‘White Nights’ brought alive by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, in the form of ‘Saawariya’. Though the movie did not work at the box office, as Shah Rukh Khan‘s ‘Om Shanti Om’ swept away the moolah, the new generation of a talented clan was born. Ranbir Kapoor was the name, and he bagged all the awards for the best debut that year.

Times came and went by, and every time he came on the screens, he had something fresh to offer. Be it his playboy act in ‘Bachna Ae Haseeno’, where he effortlessly gyrated to the tunes once made for his father, or ‘Wake Up Sid’, where he was a clueless and spoilt but adorable brat who eventually found his calling, not just in the everyday nine to five life, he was unstoppable. He made us laugh and cry in ‘Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani’, and gave us a fine piece of his acting panache with the unconventional role in ‘Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year’. He was comfortable stepping into the shoes of modern-day Arjun in Prakash Jha’s political re-telling of Mahabharata, ‘Rajneeti’, and shined in the otherwise average ‘Anjaana Anjaani‘ . (Also Read: ‘Jagga Jasoos’ movie review: Ranbir-Katrina’s musical voyage to happiness will win you over)

And then, came Imtiaz Ali’s ‘Rockstar’, and Ranbir’s transition from his happy roles was remarkable. He shocked us and shook us, with the intensity with which he portrayed a connection between a broken heart and creation of soulful music, a role of a broken lover, a bleeding Rockstar. Ranbir’s portrayal of Janardan ‘Jordan’ Jakhar was so surreal, that it was hard to believe this was the same guy who portrayed such blithe characters, a while back. The movie brought him his first ever Filmfare for the best actor, and many other accolades. This was just a start.

What followed, was Anurag Basu’s ‘Barfi!’ where we saw him as the mute and adorable Barfi, who could spread a cheer anywhere with his smile. Again, the man took us by surprise by effortlessly coming out of the skin of brooding rockstar Jordan, and getting into the skin of the lovable oddball Barfi. This act of Ranbir earned him his consecutive award for Best actor and rightly so.

He went on to wow us as Kabir Thapar aka Bunny in ‘Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani‘ . Somewhere, we could all relate to that guy who wanted everything in life, who did not want to stop, but at the same time wanted a comfortable halt, a home in his heart, which he eventually finds. ‘Roy‘ may not have worked, and even though it was just an extended cameo, not many would have dared to plunge into a writer’s fantasy, a character within the sub-plot. But Ranbir did it and again came out with flying colours. ‘Bombay Velvet‘ fell flat, but his character of Johnny/Balraj, with the vibe of the bygone era, was much appreciated. (We would like to conveniently forget the cataclysm on the senses that ‘Besharam’ was.)

After his award-winning stint in ‘Rockstar’, Ranbir joined hands with Imtiaz Ali once again, in ‘Tamasha’. With a story of a storyteller trapped in the hustle of daily job and mundane life, Ved’s character was all of us. All of us, who struggle to be average in doing the usual, never thinking of taking the risk and being the best in what we love. Tara, played by Deepika depicted the light within us to guide towards what we do, the voice of our heart, the voice of Ved’s heart whom he finds in a distant land. But, amongst everything, Ranbir’s act as Ved stole the show, and though the movie being a niche one could not work wonders at the box office, Ranbir delivered yet another goal in terms of acting finesse.

After ‘Rockstar’ and ‘Tamasha’, the jovial traits of the characters Ranbir had played previously, were fading somehow, and for the first time, his character of Ayan from ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’, seemed a little repetitive. Instead of being someone whom we could root for, for being constantly thwarted on the love front by the one he had a hearty obsession towards, Ayan somehow irritated us. The fact that we were high on the movie ‘PINK’ which raised the important issue of ‘No means No’, Ayan really did not appeal. But then, Ranbir’s act and charm worked even here, and he managed to deliver yet another stellar performance, extracting extraordinary from the ordinary.

But the best was yet to come. Since ages, we had been listening about the ambitious project ‘Jagga Jasoos’, wherein Ranbir was playing the titular character of the teen detective. The movie was witnessing the team-up of Anurag Basu and Ranbir, once again after ‘Barfi!’, and yet again, we were going to witness Ranbir’s amiable side, in a musical. Too many experiments were at stake. And yes, he did blow us away. Though it is too early to deliver any verdict on the movie, Ranbir’s performance as Jagga extracted emotions and moved feels inside, like no one else. A stammering orphan who sings to express, a teenage detective who has a thing for solving unfinished stories and crimes, a boy craving for the love of a father lost, refusing to believe he is gone. Ranbir brings out the finest of his career with his beautiful rendition of Jagga’s various shades, and makes you reminisce the likes of legends like Feluda and Hardy Boys. We came out of the cinema hall smiling goofily and wished we could see more of Jagga’s antics.

For those who curse nepotism, if an enigma and virtuosity like Ranbir is the result of the same, we don’t mind it in a measured balance. This man works silently towards his sheer love of cinema, giving us one after the other, characters to remember, breathing life into the fictional beings like no one else.

Take a bow to the one who is out to be a stellar performer, and not a star.

Imagine a situation when you wake up one fine morning, have your cuppa of coffee and then grab up a newspaper in your hand, only to see a BREAKING scandal on the first page which is all about YOU. What would be your reaction? You’ll be shocked and paranoid, right?

The same goes for our Bollywood celebrities too.

They are famous, and we think that they are over-privileged, and so, we rob them of all the humanity we pride ourselves upon. We forget that Bollywood celebrities might also get the same feeling of helplessness when they are pulled into a puddle without any reason; for those just for the sake news. The point we want to prove here is that, we literally rely on the lives of our Bollywood celebrities; what they eat? where are they vacationing/partying? she was so fake during that interview?, and we so love it.

Image Source - Yogen Shah

But on a franker note, do we really know when to not cross the line? Let’s talk about a recent example, that of megastar Amitabh Bachchan. When many media houses reported (not us) that Senior Bachchan had been admitted to Lilavati Hospital, Mumbai; but the truth was something else. The star had actually visited the hospital for a routine check-up as he was complaining about a pain in his lumbar. Later, Big B penned down a poem in Hindi which explained that while he totally understands the photographers’ need for his pictures to continue their work and it is just part of their profession, those camera flashes may act hazardous at times, especially to the eyes, which is why he hid his face with a hat. PERIOD! Have a look at his heartfelt poem below:

Image Source - http://srbachchan.tumblr.com/

That’s just one of the example, when a problem of a star was not at all sympathised, but was churned into a BREAKING news.

Image Source - Times Now

Even actress Preity Zinta recently became the catch for many media portals when the dimpled beauty was snapped exiting a hang-out spot in Mumbai wearing a ill-fitted dress. And then what, there were speculations that Is Preity Zinta pregnant and is that a Baby bump she is flashing? Like really peeps, now a actress can’t even wear a loose clothing piece, does everything needs to be oh-so gossip tuned?

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When Deepika Padukone talked about her depression story, without a doubt there were fans who sympathised the lady. But over time, there were also many who pointed out the credibility of her confession. Questions were raised and statements were thrown at her which in a gist meant that being a lady who enjoyed so much fame and money, how could she claim of suffering from depression. Clearly, such people just proved their ignorance of the fact that Depression is not just a verb, but actually a mental illness which can claim anyone, irrespective of status, wealth, talent and beauty.

How fickle and heartless we are as audience. We claim to be head over heels in love with our stars and yet when it comes to such times and things, we leave no chance to take a jibe at them.

Few months back Aishwarya Rai Bachchan paid the price of being a celebrity, when paparazzi zoomed and clicked some tacky snaps of the star when she had visited Manish Malhotra‘s residence for dinner, along with her hubby. But instead of being supportive and taking Aish’s side, social media took pleasure out of those GROSS photos. We wouldn’t have reacted the same way if it would have happened with someone close to us, right?

Image Source - Instagram (@aslisona)

Yesterday, a media portal bashed Sonakshi Sinha with her choice of ensembles which she wore during her film’s promotion. While we do get that everything cannot be sugar-coated, but we do need to be subtle in the way that even celebs as humans get what we are trying to say.

Forget sympathy, where is the empathy?

Are we affirming the fact that celebrities are rich and so their misery is not at all real? Why can’t we gulp the fact that the problems of our stars are also genuine? Their misery, no matter how public, are real, even in the cut-throat ugly world of glamour. Agreed that they are rich, move in their swanky cars and do what not; but at last they are HUMANS just like you and me.

Lastly, not all celebrities are publicity obsessed. And we should surely learn where to draw a line. TIME OUT!

January 25, 2018, I went to a theatre to watch Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘Padmaavat’. It was a first day, first show. I was keen to see what the director had to offer, after ‘Bajirao Mastani’.

Well, I was quite impressed with ‘Padmaavat’ thanks to the spectacular vision of SLB. Even the actors left a mark. While Ranveer Singh’s Khilji act was outstanding, Deepika Padukone looked stunning as Rani Padmavati and Shahid Kapoor as Maharawal Ratan Singh impressed us. However, I felt there was something missing in the film, an ‘X – Factor’ that was there in ‘Bajirao Mastani’, but not in ‘Padmaavat’. I couldn’t put things together as what was that one thing missing in ‘Padmaavat’.

Image Source - Instagram @deepikapadukone

Finally, after wracking my brains and heart for a few days, a box office comparison article on ‘Padmaavat’ VS ‘Bajirao Mastani’ finally gave me the answer I was looking for. It was you, Priyanka Chopra. The ‘X-factor’ in ‘Bajirao Mastani’ was missing from the magnum opus and now a Rs 250 crore plus profitable film ‘Padmaavat’. The subtle yet a powerful performance that you gave in ‘Bajirao Mastani’.

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I then literally went and checked out other dialogue promos of ‘Bajirao Mastani’ that featured you, and understood that not just ‘Padmaavat’, an ‘X – Factor’ from Bollywood has been missing. Bollywood is missing Priyanka Chopra, who is not just a pretty face, but a performer who can make us sit back and notice her.

Your last Bollywood movie was a 2016 release ‘Jai Gangaajal’. Though you were excellent in the film, your ‘Bajirao Mastani’ performance overpowers every other last release of yours.

Image Source - Instagram @priyankachopra

There’s no doubt that Priyanka, you are making India proud internationally with the ‘Quantico’ series and three Hollywood films in your kitty, but Bollywood needs you too. Its been more than two years, that your fans are waiting for you to announce your next Bollywood film. We have heard a lot about the films you might take up, SLB’s ‘Gustakhiyan’, Kalpana Chawla biopic, Rakesh Sharma biopic and ‘Fanney Khan’. However, till date, none have been announced as your next Bollywood project.

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Priyanka, it’s definitely high time that you come back to Bollywood, not just for your fans but for Bollywood. I am not saying that Bollywood can’t work without Priyanka and movies won’t be made. But, then the silver screen is missing a performer like you.